The present invention relates to the field of toys. More specifically, the present invention relates to the field of bilboquet toys.
The course of daily life is often occasioned with idle time in which a person must wait for an event to occur. Waiting time in a doctor""s office is an example of such idle time. It is beneficial to have some divertissement when such idle time occurs. One such divertissement may be the game of bilboquet.
Bilboquet, also called balero, is an ancient amusement found in most cultures throughout the world. Bilboquet is played with a bilboquet toy that may take any of several forms, the most common of which are ring-and-pin and ball-and-cup bilboquet toys.
A traditional bilboquet toy has a pin or cup with a handle. This is the xe2x80x9cboquet.xe2x80x9d An often-stylized ring or ball, the xe2x80x9cbille,xe2x80x9d is tethered to the boquet. The object of play is to toss the bille into the air and catch it on/in the boquet.
Bilboquet toys have evolved and become stylized over the centuries. The bille may be shaped as a hollow cylinder, a ball with a hole therein, a xe2x80x9chat,xe2x80x9d or any of multitudinous other shapes influenced by the ethnicity and creativity of the designer. Many are composite toys, having multiple cups, pins, and/or holes requiring differing levels of skill.
The game of bilboquet, while simple, requires a certain dexterity for mastery. Skill at bilboquet requires good hand-eye coordination and fast reflexes. Achieving this skill through practice is a generally pleasant activity, entirely suited to the whiling-away of idle time.
Unfortunately, a bilboquet toy must be present when and where a person encounters idle time. This would not be the case with a traditional bilboquet toy, as it would be but one more thing to carry in the hurried activities of the modern electronic age. There is, therefore, a need for an improved bilboquet toy that is inexpensive and unobtrusive, allowing it to be completely ignored until desired.
In addition, a problem exists in general marketing in that there is a continuing need to provide effective advertisement at low cost. To be effective, an advertisement should capture and retain the attention of potential clients. Too many advertising options are either too expensive, too complex, or faced with a preponderance of competing advertisements to be effective in fulfilling these goals. This marketing problem is especially significant when there is a greater than normal need for the advertisement because of unusual competition or need to attract attention, e.g., at trade shows, conventions, grand openings, and sales.
There is, therefore, a need for an appropriate device to address this problem. A suitable bilboquet toy may be emblazoned with a logo or other advertising copy, thereby making of the toy the desired marketing tool suitable for distribution at trade shows, conventions, grand openings, sales, etc.
Accordingly, it is an advantage of the present invention that a bilboquet toy and a method of play therewith are provided.
It is another advantage of the present invention that a bilboquet toy is provided that incorporates a handheld electronic device as the boquet.
It is another advantage of the present invention that a bilboquet toy is provided that is inexpensive to manufacture and that displays advertising copy.
The above and other advantages of the present invention are carried out in one form by a bilboquet toy made up of a handheld electronic device having a protrusion, a coupler configured to attach to the handheld electronic device, a bille configured to be caught by the protrusion, and a tether tethering the bille to the coupler.
The above and other advantages of the present invention are carried out in another form by a method of using a bilboquet toy consisting of a handheld electronic device with a protrusion, attaching a coupler to the handheld electronic device, coupling a bille to the coupler via a tether, said bille having a cavity or hole configured to pass over the protrusion, tossing the bille upward, and attempting to catch the bille upon the protrusion of said handheld electronic device.